SEARCA Research Scholarship Program

Objectives
Eligibility
Announcement
Application Procedures and Requirements
Scholar Benefits
Scholar Responsibilities
Contact

Objectives

The SEARCA Research Scholarship Program provides financial support to a limited number of qualified master’s or PhD students whose research studies address pressing concerns in agriculture and rural development in Southeast Asia and are relevant to SEARCA’s priority thrusts under its current Five-Year Development Plan.

Eligibility

An applicant for the Research Scholarship must meet the following requirements:

Be a Southeast Asian national enrolled in a master's or PhD program;
Have an approved master's thesis or PhD dissertation proposal related to SEARCA's priority thrusts under its current Five-Year Development Plan;
Be currently conducting thesis research activities; and
Be able to complete all research activities, including manuscript writing, within one year from the date of award.

Priority 1	Southeast Asian nationals who are enrolled in graduate programs at any of the member universities of the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC). Visit https://uc.searca.org/members for the list of UC member universities.
Priority 2	Southeast Asian nationals who are enrolled in graduate programs in universities in Southeast Asia.
Priority 3	Southeast Asian nationals who are enrolled in graduate programs in universities outside Southeast Asia.

Announcement

The call for applications and the awarding of scholarships shall be made twice a year according to the following schedule:

	First Batch	Second Batch
Call for applications	June 1	December 1
Deadline for submission of applications	July 7	January 7
Awarding of scholarship grants	August 15	March 15

Application Procedures and Requirements

Interested applicants must fill out the application form online through https://ischo.searcaapps.org/v2 and upload a copy of all the following required documents. If the documents are not in English, a certified English translation must accompany the submission.

Letter of application addressed to the SEARCA Center Director. The letter should:
- highlight how the thesis research aligns with the SEARCA's priority thrusts under its current Five-Year Development Plan; and
- describe the planned translation or commercialization pathway of the intended research results for downstream impact (e.g., policy brief, industry engagement, or technology transfer)
Official endorsement from the employer, if employed;
Recommendation from the Dean of the Graduate School, bearing the university seal or logo of the institution where the applicant is pursuing the degree program;
Thesis/Dissertation research proposal approved by the Advisory Committee and/or Dean of the Graduate School;
Budgetary requirement for the entire research duly attested and recommended by the major adviser and Dean of the Graduate School;
True copy of grades for courses taken, certified by the Graduate School;
If the applicant is a recipient of another scholarship, include a certification from the other funding agency indicating its grant amount, items covered by the grant, and proof that there is no conflict with the SEARCA application.
Research timetable indicating the planned research activities until the expected date of thesis manuscript submission or final defense. Note that all activities must be completed within one year from the effectivity date of the scholarship award; and
For PhD applicants who are interested in pursuing an internship at SEARCA, a letter of intent for a maximum two-month internship. The letter should indicate:
- the applicant's expectations and proposed activities for the internship period, and
- how the internship is expected to enhance the applicant's PhD research.
The internship is subject to matching the scholar's field of interest with the ongoing projects and activities of SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD).

Scholar Benefits

Maximum Research Budget Allocation
PhD students (with laboratory activities)	USD 6,000
PhD students (without laboratory activities)	USD 4,200
MS students (with laboratory activities)	USD 4,000
MS students (without laboratory activities)	USD 2,800

The research budget shall be released in two equal tranches: i) upon acceptance of the scholarship award and submission of a signed scholarship contract, and ii) upon submission of a thesis progress report and liquidation of the first tranche.

For PhD students, funds for an optional two-month internship at SEARCA, up to a maximum of USD 2,400 to cover travel, insurance, and a stipend meant to cover living expenses at SEARCA during the internship period. The budget for the internship will be arranged and released separately from the research budget.

Scholar Responsibilities

The Research Scholar is required to:

Pursue research activities on the topic approved by the university and for which the scholar has been awarded support as indicated in the SEARCA award letter;
Acknowledge SEARCA in the manuscript and other presentations or publications that may arise from the research study; and
Contribute to SEARCA’s knowledge products by developing one or more publishable outputs based on the research study. The list of SEARCA knowledge products is available at https://www.searca.org/pubs.
For scholars undertaking an internship at SEARCA, present a Graduate Seminar at SEARCA.